Palmer Ridge High School

19255 Monument Hill Road

School District

Lewis-Palmer 38
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for Lewis-Palmer 38 School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 07, 2022

LPSD 38 and Palmer Ridge High School do a great job overall. The staff, teachers, and administrators are professional and work well with the students. -Curriculum. They offer a range of courses that satisfy the needs of students.-Post secondary preparedness. Excellent. The school helps young adults prepare for college AND they partner with Pike's Peak Community College to help students access career education while in high school. This is such an important offering because too many schools try to push every child into colleges (where they learn no skills and amass life changing debt) when they should instead be pursuing a career in the trades.-Extra-curricular activities. Top notch. The school supports their student athletes and has multiple programs that are very competitive in the state.The school board is run by competent people in the community who put the students first. This is a fine school as are all of the other schools in LPSD 38.
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2021

If delinquent clowns were to takeover this school it would be an improvement but possibly an insult to the clowns.Poor communication, worse understanding of the rules, ultimate failure led to our child being completely left behind. Their form of apology? “Oops! These things happen!” Only at the new school we attend, they don’t.
Submitted by parent on May 25, 2021

As public schools go, PR is above average in academics and has some of the best teachers in the area. With that said, we pulled our daughter out of this school at the end of her sophomore year because she was being bullied by the assistent principal. She's a straight A student - graduated from High school with a 4.0 - but she does have a learning disability which seemed to annoy both the assistent principal and one of her coaches. I cannot count how many times I had to go to the school to pick up a distressed child - who actually entered counseling because of the bullying she recieved from these two persons in leadership. Her teachers, on the other hand, were awesome - and she connected with them very well. (She plans on inviting several of them to her future wedding) So, while I do reccommend this school based upon the teachers and the academics, I would tell any parents putting their child in this school who has learning disabilities to watch closely for signs - such as a change in behavior in their child. Just be careful, stay involved and advocate for your child if they can't advocate for themselves. (Mine was an introvert and held the stress from the bullying in - not a good thing) Academically, by the end of her sophomore year she was ready for college classes because of the outstanding English, History , and Science teachers she had. The teachers prepared her well for college and instead of going her last two years to PR, she went to a community college where she also attained straight A's . So cudos to the PR teachers who prepped her so well for college. Shame to the persons in leadership who bullyied her to the point where we had no choice but to pull her out.
Submitted by other on May 25, 2021

I struggled a lot with my learning disability and this school was ill-prepared for a student with my type of hearing situation. The teachers were super nice but the problem was with the vice-principal and counselor, who made my life a living hell. I transferred schools because of both of them.
Submitted by parent on December 30, 2020

Palmer Ridge is an academically rigorous school offering many AP classes, Project Lead the Way and other advanced courses. The heart beat of the school is college readiness. Teachers are very credentialed and counselors are available to help students navigate post high school options. Palmer Ridge offers many course options that appeal to students interested in both liberal arts and STEM. There are many active clubs to include DECA, Cyber Patriots, FBLA etc. Extracurricular activities are encouraged and the school boasts of many state championships and is strong in track and field, cross country and football to name a few. Volleyball is competitive as is field hockey and lacrosse (some sports are District teams that are combined with neighboring Lewis Palmer). Basketball is not a strong program at Palmer Ridge. Palmer Ridge however, can be a difficult place to be average. The school is competitive both academically and co-curricularly. This adds a lot of pressure on kids that is not always healthy. The new administration at the school (joined in 2019-2020 school year) is addressing this and is actively partnering with programs like Sources of Strength to help students cope and ultimately thrive. COVID has been stressful across the country but D38 has handled the pandemic and social equity challenges better than neighboring districts in the area. The key to success at Palmer Ridge is parent involvement. Make sure your family is known and that your voice is heard. Teachers and admin respond well to encouragement, support and ideas on ways to help your student thrive. My son is a senior and we'll miss our Palmer Ridge family next year. His 4 years have not been perfect but he has grown tremendously and I am confident in the game of life he'll succeed given the solid foundation he's been afforded at this high school.
Submitted by other on March 10, 2020

All in all, it was simply horrible. No one replied to concerns, and we had to leave.
Submitted by student on January 16, 2020

easy 9 out of 10 if you want a great school with amazing teachers and faculty that cares then this was for you the scores of tests and extracurricular activities is a strong reflection of how the school operates and I can't recommend it enough
Submitted by student on May 22, 2019

zero out of ten, this school boasts academic advancement while disregarding the students who have trouble keeping up with the insane expectations, the teachers do not help or care about the kids, every program is neglected in favour of football (even other athletic programs) since there are hardly any consequences for bullying, kids become liberal in their usage of slurs and inappropriate and appalling language making the experience of targeted students hellish
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2018

We absolutely LOVE this school! All the schools in the district are good but we chose Palmer Ridge HS. because it seem to stand out in all areas but Especially Choral and Drama Departments. We are so lucky to have found this school
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2018

Top notch! It was the perfect fit for my child and provided him with ample opportunity to challenge himself, develop his skills and passions, and excel academically and artistically. He went on to a top college in NYC well prepared for the rigor of the work in college.
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2018

Awesome experience! Both of my students graduated from PR with a strong work ethic and morals. The younger of the two is doing well in college and my older student graduated and was well equipped to enter into trade school and a career. Kudos to the staff they were top notch throughout my kids years. The Math and Social Studies departments definitely set the bar high but were always willing to meet with my students to go over anything they were struggling with.
Submitted by parent on March 13, 2018

Awful. Horrible. Bad. A multi-year disengaged administration has led to the downfall of PR. The board took its eyes off them and they plummeted. Complete fail!
Submitted by parent on March 12, 2018

We will be transferring to LP next year. Too many helicopter moms at this school. They probably feel like they need to be there because the faculty is not qualified.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2017

Comical. The Seniors are miserable due to the inadequate leadership.
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2017

I don't even know where to start with my unhappiness. This school has been nothing but a disappointment from inconsistencies regarding punishments, non-communicative admins, to disrespectful front office staff. Regretting our decision of PR over LP!! Don't make the same mistake we did. The staff will tell you if you don't like the way they handle something, there is another high school in the district and that you can transfer. Wow!!
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2017

By far, the worst school experience ever!! The blame falls squarely on Administration. The Principal's "no" attitude about anything extracurricular is a direct result of his inability to work WITH parents. He has isolated himself from the community and does not engage with the student body. Sadly, his peers follow suit. He hired an Athletic Director with no experience as an AD nor did newly hired AD play sports. How can he oversee a 4A school's athletic program?! Please save this school by hiring strong leadership. Complete turnover in Administration is necessary immediately!!
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2017

We have had 3 kids go through Palmer Ridge High School. One just graduated this past year, and he feels his classes prepared him well for college. No school is perfect, but we have found many of our kids' teachers to be passionate, skilled in the art of instruction and willing to meet before or after school. Great overall experience.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2017

Weak leadership. Several openings and that is a direct result of lack of leadership.
Submitted by parent on August 15, 2017

Not what I expected from a D38 school. I am surprised and disappointed.
Submitted by student on July 27, 2017

There are a lack of volunteers at this school. You may want to ask yourselves why. Administration runs the volunteers off. I volunteered my last event last year.